Painful Realizations
by crazytomboy78
Summary: Tony has realized something, but just a little too late...one-shot, slight Pepperony.


As Rhodey walked into the armory, he caught sight of Tony leaning against the wall, sulking.

"Rhodey, I'm an idiot." Tony said casually.

"Alright, I haven't witnessed a revelation of any sort firsthand so you're going to have to explain, dude." Rhodey said.

"I'm so stupid. This whole time, I didn't realize how I really feel about Pepper and now it's too late. She probably hates me now."

Rhodey smiled. He knew exactly what Tony was getting at.

"Ah, so he finally gets it," He said teasingly.

"If I were to tell her now it'd be too late. Even if she does like me back, she's dating Happy. I've got no chance."

Rhodey gave Tony a pat on the back.

"You, my friend, have just leaned exactly what you put Pepper through this whole time." Rhodey explained. Tony shot him a confused look.

"Dude, do you have any idea how long Pepper has liked you? And what do you do, you date Whitney. The very girl she hates. You put her through the same crap, dude. It's about time you got a taste of your own medicine." Rhodey explained.

"Wait, she liked me this whole time and no one told me? We could have sorted this all out a long time ago!"

"Dude, if anyone had told you before now you would've freaked out. We figured it'd be better if you had a revelation." Rhodey explained. Tony sighed once more.

"I screwed up big time, didn't I?" Tony asked sadly.

"Yeah, yeah you did. But you're on your own this time, dude."

And with that, Rhodey left Tony to his thoughts.

Such an idiot...he thought.

Then, he hatched a brilliant idea.

~...~

"What is it, Tony, what do you want?" Pepper asked, annoyed at Tony's urgent demeanor.

"Just come with me, I have something amazing to show you!" Tony explained excitedly as he dragged Pepper towards the armory. Once they were safely inside, Tony brought one of the armors down.

Before he opened the case that held the armor, he covered her eyes with his hands. Once he opened it, he removed his hands.

When Pepper saw what was sitting there, she was speechless. A huge smile spread across her cheeks.

"Tony you finally made me my own armor! Oh my gosh this is so amazing, thank you thank you thank you!" Pepper exclaimed, suddenly pulling Tony in for a hug. Tony, taken by surprise, smiled at the action.

"But, I thought you weren't going to...what made you change your mind?" She asked happily.

"I-it's my way of saying I'm really sorry for the way I've been acting lately...with the whole me dating Whitney and not telling you, and being a jerk because there are a few things I hadn't realized...I've been working on it since yesterday morning." Tony explained. It was pretty late at night, so he'd spent a decent amount of time on it.

"You weren't being a jerk, Tony, this is the nicest, most awesome thing you've ever done for me." Pepper said, in her way of asking what he meant by the statement.

"Uhh, let's just say there's a thing or two I hadn't realized before that I see now..." Tony said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "But listen, this armor is specifically for rescuing purposes only. When Rhodey or I need a rescuer, you may suit up. I don't want you getting hurt, kapeesh?" Tony said strictly, pointing his finger at her.

"Yes Tony, I understand." Pepper said with a smile. She jumped on him with another hug, then tried on her armor.

"Well? You ready to take it out for a spin?" Tony asked, suiting up in his own armor. Pepper squealed in excitement.

"Boy, am I ever!"

Tony chuckled and held out his hand.

As Pepper took it, they took to the skies, an armored man and his woman by his side.

~...~

As the two took to the skies, Pepper laughed in excitement. She was filled with the rush and the thrill of the experience.

"This is sooo amazing! I can't believe I'm flying! Oh my gosh, this is so fun!" Pepper squealed in excitement, spinning around and flipping in the air. Tony chuckled at her excitement. He loved seeing her so ecstatic.

"I can't believe you didn't do this sooner! This is so amazing!" Pepper said as she flew up to Iron Man, stopping just a heart-pounding few inches from Tony's face. He had opened his face plate to watch her giddy excitement, and she had opened hers in the rush of the moment.

"Yeah, well, believe it or not, I didn't want to make it for you because I don't know what I'd do with myself if you got hurt. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I lost you." Tony admitted. Pepper smiled.

"That is so sweet, Tony! Thank you!" She said, hugging him.

With their faces so close, however, they just froze there, blushing.

Tony cleared his throat before speaking.

"So...uh...how are you and Happy doing?" He asked, desperate for conversation.

"Who? Oh, uhh, were good..." Pepper said, distracted by why Tony would even care.

"That's, uhh...that's good..." Tony said, his tone in the air of disappointment. He backed up a little, closing his mask to hide his saddened expression.

Pepper did the same, flying a bit back. She couldn't get Tony's face out if her head. How...sad it looked, how disappointed it was. Shaking it off, she checked the time.

"I, uhh, I gotta go, I have to meet Happy...I'll see you later..." She said, flying off to the armory. After that confrontation, she had the lingering feeling that she wanted to stay with him and make up for somehow disappointing him, and maybe even ask what she'd done to disappoint him. And, she'd rather fly around the city more in her new armor; but she'd ditched Happy enough times already. She knew she'd have to learn to ignore the lingering feeling of wanting to stay there with Tony.

Tony, however, stayed behind, deciding to fly around the city to clear his head.

~...~

As Iron Man and Rescue circled each other in the sky, Iron Man took Rescue's armored hand in his and pulled her into him. The two opened their face plates, meeting in the middle for a kiss.

...

Tony jolted awake in bed. The thought didn't so much scare him as it did tease him. Told him of something he had missed out on. Why did fate have to be so cruel? He realized his mistake; he didn't want to be constantly reminded of it.

He sighed with an air of sadness, collapsing on his bed again. It was going to be a long night.

**Ahh, raise your hand if this was so adorable that it made you wanna give Tony a big hug! *raises hand* Haha, I've been watching season 2 episodes online lately and I came up with this in hopes something similar will happen…anyways, review!**


End file.
